Exegetical practices in the School of Salamanca: Pauline interpretation as a test case

This article examines the interpretation of the Pauline Epistles within the intellectual milieu of sixteenth-century Salamanca, understood as a continuation and transformation of medieval exegetical culture. Focusing on figures commonly associated with the School of Salamanca—Francisco de Vitoria, Melchor Cano, Domingo de Soto, Domingo Báñez, and Fray Luis de León—the study analyses how Pauline exegesis functioned at the intersection of scholastic theology, humanist philology, and ecclesiastical authority. Through close readings of commentaries, theological treatises, and methodological reflections, the article shows that Salamanca theologians developed a distinctive approach to Scripture that combined the primacy of the literal sense with a controlled use of philological tools, all within an explicitly ecclesial hermeneutical framework. Particular attention is given to Domingo de Soto's commentary on Romans, exemplifying how Pauline texts shaped Iberian debates on justification, grace, and authority during the Protestant Reformation. By situating Pauline exegesis within the cultural and institutional setting of Salamanca, marked by controversies over the Vulgate, the authority of original languages, and the legacy of medieval scholasticism, the article contributes to a broader understanding of how Scripture was read, taught, and contested in the Iberian world at the threshold between the Middle Ages and the early modern period.